Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has announced the City’s new Main Arterial and CBD Cleansing Plan, which will enhance visible cleaning along major routes and the CBD.

The City Council has approved over R26 million in start-up funding as part of its January Adjustment Budget. Additionally, the City is allocating an extra R100 million to address potholes and resurface roads.

The new plan aims to ensure cleaner major routes while creating employment opportunities through the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). Dedicated teams will perform top-up cleaning services along main arterial routes and within the CBD.

Mayor Hill-Lewis stated, “Our new Main Arterial and CBD Cleansing Plan is an exciting initiative to expand visible cleaning along Cape Town’s main highways and arterial routes, as well as in our main Central Business District. This is one of various ways we are working for a cleaner city for all. We want Cape Town to be known as a city that takes great pride in cleanliness and presentability, leaving a good impression for both residents and visitors.”

He added, “We are also putting an extra R100 million into clearing potholes and resurfacing roads as part of this Adjustment Budget. By investing in better roads, and cleanliness along our major routes, we are ensuring that Cape Town continues to be a beacon of hope, showing that decline is not inevitable in our country’s major cities.”

Further highlights from the City’s January Adjustment Budget include:

R34 million for stormwater maintenance and repairs
R32 million for additional repairs to the City’s affordable Rental Units
R10 million to further accelerate title deed delivery
A R400 million saving due to improved exchange rates lowering the cost of the major upgrade to Potsdam Waste Water Treatment Works
R10 million for CBD revitalisation initiatives, as part of seed-funding to the City Inner City Mission (NPO), to pursue opportunities for growth, place-making, and development within the City’s CBD.

Candid Encounter At The Whiskey Lounge Cape Town Revives Apartheid’s Ghost

“Everywhere I go, it’s the same thing. The people serving me, making my bed, or bringing my meals, they’re all not of a lighter skin [they are black],” she observed.

By Gugu Lourie2024-11-1325 Mins Read

Cape Town. Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/aerial-photography-of-boat-terminal-259447/

Cape Town has long been a poster child for South African tourism.

By any measure, the metropolis is a beautiful city with impressive mountains, pristine beaches, and the charm of its vibrant neighbourhoods.

But that’s only one side of the picture.

Away from the famed tourist attractions, the city holds a different story for some.

While on a recent visit to the “Mother City“, my colleagues and I had a memorable encounter at the Taj Cape Town Whiskey Lounge that gave the narrative sharp relief.

We met an advertising executive from Germany with a rather grim perspective on Cape Town.

“What’s there to like about this city?” she asked with a clear disdain, her voice loud enough to cut through the lounge.

My colleague Mike from Johannesburg, sitting next to me, stared wide-eyed at her in surprise.

“It smells of pee everywhere,” she added, with a theatrical sigh that sounded like she wanted to wash clean Cape Town.

From that moment, “Washing Machine” was the nickname I gave the visiting German advertising executive, who sat in earshot – about four metres from Mike and I.